Mr Milosevic has until now refused to accept foreign troops on Yugoslav territory.

Speaking after returning to Moscow, Mr Chernomyrdin on Friday said he was ready to meet Nato leaders as soon as Saturday to negotiate an end to the Kosovo conflict.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair gave his first reaction to the latest moves for peace from Belgrade on Friday, saying that air strikes would be stepped up until Nato's demands were fully met.

"It may be an indication of changes in Milosevic's position but we just don't know enough about the details of this yet. In any event, the Nato demands are clear and they have to be met," he told BBC Radio.

US President Bill Clinton said if the report was true, it was the first acknowledgement by President Milosevic that there would have to be an international security force in Kosovo.

Such a force should contain troops from other Slavic nations such as Ukraine and Russia, he added.

But a statement from President Milosevic's office after the meeting with Mr Chernomyrdin made no mention of any international force and gave no indication the Yugoslav leader had softened his hard-line stance.

Aid package

As Russia and Yugoslavia apparently searched for a way to resolve the Kosovo conflict, there were calls from Nato for a massive aid package to rebuild the Balkans once the crisis is over.